


St(r)ay for Christmas

by mikachuchu



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas gift, F/M, Family Bonding, Fluff, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, in which the dupain chengs adopt chat noir, mlss 2k20
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:55:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28242726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikachuchu/pseuds/mikachuchu
Summary: Slowly but surely, the Dupain-Chengs adopted Chat Noir as their own. Ultimate Mecha Strike tournaments, family dinners, cooking lessons... he was a part of it all. So he really shouldn't have been surprised when they invited him to spend the holidays with them.A ml ss gift for @mizuminojosei on tumblr!
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 8
Kudos: 158





	St(r)ay for Christmas

Adrien doesn’t remember being adopted by the Dupain-Cheng family. Or rather, he doesn’t remember when they adopted  _ Chat Noir. _ It was the last thing he thought they’d do after the events of Weredad. And yet, slowly but surely, they turned him into an honorary Dupain-Cheng without him even knowing it.

It all started when he began frequenting Marinette’s balcony. As much as he wanted to get to know her better, she was almost impossible to talk to at school. The last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable, but it seemed that was all he was able to do around her… When he was Adrien.

Marinette wasn’t nervous at all around him as Chat Noir. She’d tease him, call him silly and banter with him, something he could never imagine her doing with him at school. So, when Marinette didn’t send him away whenever he stopped by, he took it as a sign that she didn’t mind his company. If he dared to think about it, he’d assume she  _ welcomed _ his company. And what a thought that was. 

Adrien was surprised her parents didn’t mind him coming over so much. In fact, they welcomed him every time he – quite literally – dropped in for a visit. It started with them greeting him whenever they heard him drop down from their daughter’s sky light, asking how he was doing and if he wanted anything to eat. (The answer was always yes.) 

Then, they started to anticipate his arrivals. He would drop into his princess’s room and find his favourite pastries already waiting for him on her desk, courtesy of her parents. He always felt bad for having them go out of their way to bring him snacks, no matter how much Marinette insisted they didn’t mind. Still, he finished the plate every time, telling himself it would’ve been a waste to make them go through the trouble only for him to not finish it. 

It wasn’t always friendly greetings and plates of pastries, though; the Dupain-Chengs had a few sneaky tricks up their sleeve to lure him in too.

One night, he dropped down on Marinette’s balcony finding the sunlight open. Curiosity getting the better of him, (he was a cat, after all,) he peered into her room only to find it empty. “Hello?” he called out as he leaned forward to the point where half his body was leaning into the room.

“Marinette?” he called out again, not wanting to intrude. Her trap door into the rest of her flat was open, and he could hear her and her parents downstairs.  _ Maybe she just stepped down for a moment. _ Then he spotted his plate of pastries waiting for him as per usual on her desk. They wouldn’t be there if they didn’t expect him, so he dropped down onto her floor under the assumption that she would be up soon.

“Chat Noir? Is that you?”

A blueberry danish was half shoved in his mouth when he heard Tom call for him, and he nearly started choking.  _ Oh god. They think I’m sneaking into their teenage daughter’s room when she’s not there. This is it. They’re going to- _

“Chat Noir, could you come down? I could use your help.”

That was enough to pull him out of his spiralling. What could  _ he  _ possibly do to help? Unless they needed him to cataclysm something, he didn’t think he could be of any help.

“Uh, are you sure?” Adrien called back, still hesitant to cross the line between Marinette’s room and their flat.

“You’re the only one that can help!”

Slowly, he stepped down into the flat and Sabine greeted him with a warm smile and a wave from where she was cooking in the kitchen. Tom and Marinette were on the couch playing Ultimate Mecha Strike. 

Okay, so maybe they weren’t going to banish him like he thought they would.

“Good evening, Chat Noir.” Sabine gave him a warm motherly smile and he could feel the tension in his shoulders melt away immediately.

“Good evening, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng,” he smiled back. “Uh, my help was wanted?”

Tom looked away from the TV for only a split second to wave him over. “Yes! Chat Noir! Come over here, son! And please, call us Tom and Sabine! There’s no need for formalities here.”

_ Son. _ Whenever his own father called him son, Adrien would tense up in fear of having done something wrong. But whenever Tom called him son, he felt nothing but warmth and a sense of belonging.  _ When was the last time he felt anything like that? _

Shaking himself out of it, he walked over to join them on the couch. “What can I do to help?”

Tom placed his controller down on the coffee table to look at him seriously. “Help me beat Marinette.”

“Papa,” Marinette sighed good-naturedly. “Having Chat on your team isn’t going to help you beat me.”

Instantly, the cat ears on his head perked up at the prospect of a challenge. “You underestimate me, Purr-incess. It’s about time someone killed that winning streak of yours.”

Marinette’s eyes narrowed at him as he took a third controller and sat on the other side of Marinette. “I’d love to see you try.”

Any hesitation about intruding on the Dupain-Chengs melted away as the game started. He was much too busy trying to fight Marinette, one of the best UMS player’s he’d ever seen. It was hard to be worried when he was concentrating so hard.

It didn’t take long before he became a regular challenger during their UMS games. He figured out rather quickly that Marinette inherited her gaming prowess from her parents; Tom and Sabine were  _ ruthless. _ Even he, a well seasoned UMS fighter from all the free time he had at home, had a hard time defeating the two of them even with Marinette on his team.

He’d find himself spending just as much time in their living room as he did in Marinette’s room. If he and Marinette weren’t watching a movie, or he wasn’t watching her sew, they’d all be spending time together downstairs.

Frequent UMS tournaments then turned into weekly dinners together and even cooking lessons. Once Tom found out Chat didn’t know how to cook, he made it his personal mission to teach him how to cook whenever he was over for dinner. No matter how much Adrien insisted that it was fine, that he didn’t want to be a bother, Sabine would shut him down immediately. She was a fearsome woman when there were mouths to feed. He had to take longer runs on the Parisian rooftops to work off all the extra food he was getting, but it was completely worth it.

He doesn’t know when, or how, but the Dupain-Chengs had whole-heartedly adopted him into their family.

So, he shouldn’t have been surprised when they asked if he would like to spend Christmas with them.

“What?” Adrien was so sure he misheard them. Sure, the UMS tournaments and weekly dinners were great. Amazing, even. But spending Christmas with them? That was a big deal.

“What do you say, Chat Noir?” Tom asked, leaning forward in his seat. “We’ll have gingerbread! And log cakes! You like log cake, don’t you?”

“Well, yes, but-“

“Papa,” Marinette interrupted with a frown. “I’m sure Chat has his own Christmas plans with his family. You can’t just convince him with cookies and cake.”

“Actually…” He  _ didn’t _ have plans with his father. Adrien and his father didn’t do anything for Christmas the year before, and he was certain he’d be doing nothing yet again this year. “My family isn’t doing anything for Christmas.”

Now it was Marinette’s turn to look at him. “What?” He felt like he was suffocating under all their pitied looks. He didn’t like the look of pity in her eyes and avoided her gaze even as she craned her neck to keep her eyes on his.

Adrien cleared his throat in hopes of dispelling some of the tension even as his tail twitched with discomfort behind him. “My family… we don’t usually do anything for Christmas.”

_ “What?” _ Even though it was the second time Marinette asked, he still winced. “What do you mean you-“

“Well,” Sabine cut in quickly, stopping Marinette from making him feel even worse. “Just know our home is always open to you, Chat Noir. Just think about it for now, alright?”

He instantly relaxed in his seat when Sabine smiled at him warmly, and he did his best to return it. “I will. Thank you.”

Even though the matter had passed, the tension still hung in the air. “… Thanks for having me for dinner, Sabine. Tom. But I should get going. I still have some homework to do.” It was an empty lie, one he was sure Marinette would see straight through, but he was anxious to leave.

“Of course, son,” Tom smiled, resting a heavy hand on his shoulder. “You’re welcome over anytime.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Marinette insisted as she stood up, waiting for him to follow. After one more set of goodbyes, he followed her up to her room, then her balcony.

Chat Noir was already bending his legs to leap away into the night when Marinette spoke up. “… Did you mean what you said back there? About not celebrating Christmas?”

Instantly, he tensed, giving away his answer without having to speak. Sighing, he turned to her. “Yeah… my family isn’t as… affectionate as yours.”

“Oh.”

They stood there for a few moments, neither one knowing what to say.

“Look, Princess, I should get going…”

“Okay, just…” she seemed to be having an internal battle while he waited patiently for her to speak. “Just promise me you’ll think about my parents’ offer?”

Oh. He didn’t expect that.

“You really wouldn’t mind taking in this stray for Christmas?” he asked, surprise evident on his face. “I feel like I’d be intruding.”

Marinette was already shaking her head. “No. We’d love to have you, Kitty.”

That brought a small smile to his face, bringing his spirits back up enough to take hand in his to press a kiss to her knuckles. “I’ll think about it. Promise. Good night, Marinette.”

~~~~~

Dinner with his father was a stark contrast to dinner with the Dupain-Chengs.

The Dupain-Chengs all sat together at a small table, happily talking about their day and joking around. It was warm and they were happy just being in each other’s company. Meanwhile, Adrien sat a good twenty feet away from his father on the opposite side of their ridiculously long dining table. And even then, his father was on his tablet, still working in between bites.

All that could be heard was the clinks and scrapes of cutlery on plates, threatening to drive Adrien insane.

Clearing his throat, Adrien broke the silence and his father rose a brow at him. “Uh, father… I was wondering if we were doing anything for Christmas this year?” As his father somehow rose his brow further, Adrien felt his anxiety grow stronger. “It’s just that Christmas is only a week away and, well, you haven’t mentioned anything yet, so-“

“I’ll be flying to New York next week.”

Adrien waited to see if he would say more. When his father turned back to his tablet, Adrien braced himself to ask a question he wished he didn’t already have the answer to.

“And… what about me?” Adrien asked. “Will I be going as well?”

His father didn’t even bother to look up to reply. “No. There are a few things I need to sort out at the New York office before the new year. I will be bringing Nathalie with me and you will stay here with your bodyguard.”

Adrien hesitated before deciding to push his luck. “And… I’m supposed to spend Christmas… here… alone?”

“Weren’t you listening, Adrien?” Only then, when Adrien pushed his commands, did his father look up from his work to address him. “You will be here with your bodyguard, and that’s final. Do you understand?” His father didn’t wait for him to answer before gathering his tablet and heading back towards his office. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Although he saw the answer coming, it didn’t hurt any less.  _ Of course, the company comes before me, your own son. Of course, you’re spending the holidays working and leaving me to spend it alone. Of course, I’m not going to have a say in this. _

Adrien sat in his seat well after his father was gone to the point where the rest of his dinner had gone cold. He could feel Plagg press against his chest in what he supposed was comfort and just sighed as he pushed himself to his feet.

“Adrien,” Nathalie started as she saw him come out of the dining room. “I’m sorry-“

“Don’t be,” he reassured quickly with an empty smile. “It’s not like I didn’t expect it. I hope you have an efficient trip.”

The moment he was in the privacy of his own room, Plagg flew out of his shirt right before Adrien threw himself onto his bed. Lying on his stomach, he buried his face into his pillow and  _ screamed. _

Sure, Nathalie and The Gorilla could probably hear him from the foyer. Sure, Plagg was so worried about him that he didn’t even bother to grab a slice of cheese. But  _ God,  _ was it cathartic.

When he was finished and turned his head to lay on his pillow, Plagg flew up to his face. “You okay, kid?”

“Yeah. It’s nothing new.” Still, Plagg looked unconvinced. “Afterall,” Adrien offered a small, yet genuine, smile despite still hurting. “We get to spend Christmas with Marinette this year.”

~~~~~

A week later, Adrien was outside the mansion, seeing his father and Nathalie off on Christmas Eve. 

“Have a good trip,” Adrien wished as the Gorilla loaded the last of their bags into the car the airport sent.

“We will. Thank you, Adrien.” Nathalie offered him a nod and a pitied hand on his shoulder before climbing into the car.

He braced himself when his father stepped up to him.

“I expect you to be on your best behaviour, Adrien. Should I find out you did anything while I was away-“

“I know, father. I’ll behave.” It was a bold-faced lie, but Adrien had no intention of being caught. “Merry Christmas.”

His father didn’t even wish him a Merry Christmas in return, giving him nothing more than a nod before climbing into the car. Ah, yes. That was his father, alright.

He didn’t dwell on his father’s absence, though. He’d done enough of that in his lifetime. Instead, he had a plan to put into motion.

As his bodyguard ushered him out of the cold and back into the mansion, he gave himself an internal pep talk. He wanted to spend Christmas with the Dupain-Chengs more than anything. He’d be damned if stayed home alone on Christmas.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something,” Adrien started and the Gorilla looked at him with a brow raised. “Would you let me go to the Dupain-Chengs for Christmas?”

His bodyguard crossed his arms, his mouth opening to argue, but Adrien was faster.

“Just hear me out!” he pleaded and was relieved to see him close his mouth and nodded for him to continue. “I don’t want to spend Christmas here, alone. I’m sure you don’t want to either. They’ve invited me to stay over, and you know they’re good people. You like Marinette!”

The Gorilla just grunted.

“ _ Please. _ You can pick me up before my father gets home! You work so hard for us every day. You should be able to spend the holidays with your family. And I…” Adrien deflated prematurely. His entire Christmas hinged on this. “I don’t want to spend another Christmas alone like this…”

Adrien played with his ring anxiously as The Gorilla thought about it.  _ Please… _

Then his bodyguard let out a reluctant sigh and nodded.

Excitement shot through his body. “Really?” Overcome with joy, he launched himself to wrap his bodyguard in a hug before realizing what he was doing and backing away. “T-Thank you! I’ll go get my bag!”

Adrien hadn’t run so fast in his life. He grabbed his bag he packed in advance in hopes of his plan working. Ladybug had always been the planner between them, but hey, turns out he had some plans of his own.

~~~~~

A few minutes later, Adrien was waving his bodyguard goodbye from the front of Tom and Sabine’s bakery. His heart was beating out of his chest from excitement. As soon as the car was out of sight, he ducked into the alley next to the bakery to transform.

“I’m so proud of you, kid,” Plagg flew out of his jacket pocket and greeted him with a grin. “I’ve rubbed some of my devious genius off onto you.”

He couldn’t help but smirk. “I don’t think that’s a good thing.”

“Please, you never would’ve been scheming behind your father’s back like this when you started out.” His kwami wiped a non-existent tear from his eye and Adrien couldn’t help but shake his head. “You’ve really come a long way.”

“Guess I just learned from the best.” Earning a proud grin from Plagg, he transformed and vaulted up to Marinette’s balcony where she was waiting for him.

“Hey Kitty,” she smiled. “You made it.”

Instantly, he lowered himself into a bow and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Purr-incess. After all, your dad did promise me there would be log cake.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, but the smile was clear on her face. “Of course. So you’re here just for the log cake?”

“And you, of course.”

“Nice save.”

She opened the skylight into her room and Chat Noir nimbly dropped down onto her bedroom floor. Immediately, he made a beeline for the plate of pastries on her desk.

“Chat, I was thinking…”

“Mhmm?” he replied, his mouth full of croissant. When he turned around to face her, he noticed a mask that looked just like his in her hand. Chat Noir made sure to swallow before talking. “What’s that for?”

“Well… I know it might be a lot for you to be transformed for so long, especially since you’re sleeping over, and I figured you might not want to spend all of Christmas in a magic leather cat suit so… I made you this. So you could detransform.”

“Oh.”

_ Oh. _

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Marinette; in fact, Marinette was one of the few people he  _ did  _ trust and the same could be said for her parents. But detransforming was not something to be taken lightly. If Ladybug were here… she would probably hang him off the Eiffel tower for even considering it. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“I know it’s a big deal, and detransforming isn’t something to be taken lightly,” Marinette added quickly when he grew quiet. “I know how important identities are, so it’s completely fine if you don’t want to-“

“No, it’s fine.” He didn’t realize it until he said it, but he was completely comfortable with her idea. As long as he wore the mask, his identity would be kept intact and he trusted the Dupain-Chengs wouldn’t do anything to compromise it. “It’s a great idea, Princess.”

Chat Noir took the mask from her hands, but even still, he hesitated. He never released his transformation in front of someone before.

“If it helps, I could turn around?” Marinette offered when he didn’t move. “It might be less daunting that way.”

She was already halfway turned around when he nodded. “Yeah, it helps. Thanks.” Bracing himself. “Plagg, claws in.” Adrien felt the magic wash over him as his suit disappeared and Plagg floated in front of him.

His kwami pointed at his hair and shook his paw and Adrien looked at the mirror on her desk. Ah. With his signature swooped hairstyle, it wouldn’t take long for her to guess who he was. She did see him every day at school, after all.

He quickly ran a hand through his hair, messing it up gently till it resembled Chat’s untamed hair. Plagg gave him a look of approval and Adrien secured the mask over his face. It wasn’t anything fancy, probably just a sleeping mask that Marinette altered to have eye holes, but the fact that she considered it at all warmed his heart.

“Alright. You can look now.” She turned and gave him a once over, making him smirk. “Like what you see?”

“Well, I don’t know what I was expecting,” she admitted and he had to admire her ability to deflect his question. “You definitely look a lot more put together than I thought you would. I half expected you to show up in something as silly as you are.”

Adrien pressed his hand to his chest in mock hurt. “Wow. You wound me. I am nothing if not fashionable.”

It wasn’t a lie. God forbid his father dressed him in something from last season.

Marinette stepped forward to inspect his outfit closer. Maybe it was a designer thing, but he found nothing exciting about what he was wearing. It was nothing more than jeans, (designer, of course,) a dark green Henley and some Timberlands.

Marinette gave a satisfied nod before patting his chest. “You clean up nice, kitty.”

“Good to know I can still impress you.”

“You pull it off once in a while.”

“And what about me?” Plagg huffed, crossing his arms. “What am I? Dairy free cheese?” 

“It’s nice to see you again, Plagg,” Marinette giggled, petting the kwami with her finger. 

Meanwhile, Adrien looked between them trying to figure out when they became so close. “Have you two met before?” 

Marinette nodded. “We met when I was Multimouse and I had to return your miraculous to you, remember?” Turning back to Plagg, she smirked. “Now, I heard you like cheese.”

Instantly, Plagg lit up. “You heard right.” When Marinette motioned to her desk, Adrien noticed a plate stacked with cheese bread for the first time. His kwami didn’t hesitate to dive right in. “I knew I liked you, Pigtails.”

“Great,” Adrien sighed, shaking his head. “Now you’ve gone and spoiled him.”

“Chat Noir? Is that you?” Tom’s voice came from the living room downstairs and the two teens took it as their cue to join them. “There you are!” He grinned as they came down the stairs. “Look at you out of uniform! You’re just in time for dinner.”

Adrien could only rub the back of his neck awkwardly. Being detransformed in front of them would take some getting used to. “Ah, thanks for having me again. It really means a lot. I don’t know if I could thank you enough.”

“Good thing you don’t have to thank us at all,” Sabine insisted, leading him to the dining table. “It’s Christmas Eve. You shouldn’t have to spend it all alone.”

“What mom means to say is,” Marinette added, sliding into her seat next to him. “You’re one of us. It’s only right that you’re here for the holidays.”

They made quick work of dinner, even as Sabine placed more and more food onto his plate. He didn’t put up much of a fight, though. The Dupain-Chengs were magic in the kitchen; it’d be a crime for him to not eat as much as he could.

Once he was thoroughly stuffed, the family thoroughly kicked his butt at UMS. Not that he minded, of course. He even managed to get in a few hits on Tom before he put his controller down.

“Alright, I think I’m going to call it a night,” the older man yawned. “I’m not as young as I used to be.”

“I’ll head off to bed too,” Sabine nodded, placing a kiss on Marinette’s forehead. “You two don’t stay up too late, alright?”

Then Sabine moved over to him and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Adrien tensed for only a split second before looking up at her in wonder. She was smiling warmly at him even as she left for her bedroom with Tom.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, something in his heart clicked open after being locked away indefinitely; a mother’s love. It had been so long that he had completely forgotten what it felt like.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, he quickly turned to them just as Sabine was about to close the door. “G-Goodnight!”

She just smiled fondly. “Good night, Chat Noir. We’ll see you in the morning.”

When he turned back to Marinette, he was surprised to find her pulling all the cushions and throw blankets off the couch and onto the floor. “Uh, Princess? Whatcha doin?”

“Let me let you in on a Christmas tradition of mine. Come help me with the coffee table.” He moved to the other side of the coffee table and worked with her to carry it out of the way. “Every Christmas since I was little, I would camp out in the living room in hopes of catching Santa. I still do it every year.”

He couldn’t help but laugh even as she picked up a pillow from the floor to hit him. “That’s adorable. I’ve met Santa a few times, you know,” he smirked, crossing his arms. “I could put in a good word for you. Or a bad one if you hit me again.”

Marinette just glared at him as she threw the pillow at him with a huff. “Just go up and change. I’m going to finish setting up here.”

Chuckling, Adrien left the pillow on the couch and went back up to her room to change. “Plagg?” he called as soon as he got in, wanting to make sure his kwami didn’t break anything in his absence. He was happy to find Marinette’s bedroom perfectly intact.

The small god of destruction flew out from behind her computer. “Having fun, kid?”

“A lot of fun,” he smiled, pulling off his clothes to slip into a onesie he packed. “You okay up here?”

Plagg waved a paw dismissively. “I’m keeping myself occupied.”

Adrien narrowed his eyes at him. Plagg was suspiciously well behaved for once and he couldn’t help but question it. “What did you do?”

“I’m offended! I’m nothing but a saint.”

“Says the one who levelled Pompeii and eradicated the dinosaurs.”

“It’s just me and my cheese bread. All I need for a perfect night. Relax a little, will you?” Plagg crossed his arms. “It’s why you’re here.”

“Fine. As long as you’re not causing any trouble.”

Deciding to take Plagg’s good behaviour where he could get it, Adrien readjusted his face mask before heading back down to the living room where Marinette was putting finishing touches on a blanket fort.

“Wow! Looks great, Princess,” he grinned as he crawled in.

“Thanks. Might be my best one yet,” she nodded, sitting back to appreciate her handy work before looking back at him. “Seriously? You have a Ladybug onesie?”

He grinned shamelessly. “Of course! I have to show my pride for my lady somehow.”

“She’s not even going to see you in it.”

“It’s the thought that counts.”

She just sighed and shook her head. “Here. You can set up the lights while I change.” Marinette passed the string of lights she was holding to him before crawling out, leaving Adrien to stare at them helplessly.

_ What does she mean by set up the lights? _ Completely inexperienced with blanket forts, he looked around the fort in hopes of figuring it out. Where were they supposed to go? What if he did it wrong? In his fumbling to figure out where to set up the lights, Adrien found himself completely tangled in them by the time she came back.

“What even…?”

Adrien looked up from his tangled arms, caught in the act. “Uh… Is this how you wanted the lights set up?”

Marinette just shook her head as she crawled closer to untangle him. “Not even close, Kitty. How did you even pull this off?”

“Uh, see, I’ve never made a blanket fort before,” he admitted sheepishly as her hands worked to free his own. “So, when you said ‘set up the lights’ I had no idea what that meant and I, well, fumbled.”

“I see that,” she giggled, setting the lights down once he was free. “There you go.”

“I am forever grateful to you, Princess.” Sitting back on his haunches to stretch his fingers, he noticed what she was wearing and his eyes lit up just like the lights. “Wait. Are those…”

Marinette didn’t meet his eyes, busying herself with laying the string lights around the blanket fort. “Yes, I have Chat Noir themed pajamas. I figured you might appreciate it.”

And he did. Very much so. She was wearing a black shirt with  _ “Chat-aclysm”  _ written in green paired with green pants with black paw prints all over them. Adrien didn’t think she could’ve looked any better than she did then. 

“Afterall,” she started, turning back to face him. “I have to show my pride for my favourite superhero.”

He practically soared at the praise, his grin growing three times in size as he wrapped her in a hug, his momentum making them fall onto the futon and all the blankets. “Thank you, Princess. It means a lot.”

“Of course,” she laughed, patting his back as she returned the hug. They stayed like that for a while before she pulled away to grab her laptop. “Now, Christmas movies.”

He let Marinette choose one of those cheesy Hallmark rom-coms that always came out for Christmas before lying the laptop on his stomach and settling in next to him.

As the movie progressed, Marinette slowly made her way closer to him until she was practically draped across his chest. He didn’t mind in the slightest, even going as far to wrap his arm around her. 

He learned early on in his visits that Marinette was a cuddler. Whenever they watched movies in her room, she would always snuggle close. And being as touch deprived as Adrien was, he always welcomed her snuggles. Even looked forward to them. 

Soon, the movie faded into background noise as he ran his hand through her hair. He’d do it all the time whenever they watched movies together, but it was the first time he was touching her hair with his bare hand.

_ How could it be so soft? _

He watched as strands of hair fell from his fingers while she drew random shapes on his chest. There was something about the atmosphere that was unbelievably comforting. It was something he felt whenever he was with Marinette if he was being completely honest. She just radiated the comfort and warmth he lacked on a day-to-day basis and he couldn’t get enough of it.

“Hey, Chat?”

“Mhmm?”

The shapes on his chest stopped. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Purr-incess. What’s on your mind?”

He didn’t know if he should be concerned or scared when she hesitated. He could tell she was considering if she really wanted to ask him, and he wondered what kind of a question she had for him.

“Why doesn’t your family celebrate Christmas?” The hand in her hair stopped and she turned to look up at him. “If you don’t want to talk about it-“

“No, it’s fine,” he sighed, slowly moving his hand through her hair again. It took him a while to consider his words and build himself up to talk. “I uh… I lost my mother a couple years ago. My father hasn’t exactly been the same since then… It’s really hard on him being without her and anything that reminds him of her, well, he just blocks out.”

Even if that meant blocking his own son out too.

Marinette frowned and wrapped her arms around him tighter. “Oh, Chat, I’m so sorry. I didn’t-“

“You didn’t know. It’s okay, really,” he insisted, offering her a weak smile. “It helps to talk about it. Christmas was my mother’s favourite time of the year. Once she was gone though… It was too painful for my father to keep celebrating it without her so he just… stopped.” In an effort to play it off, he shrugged, but he was sure Marinette could see right through him. “So it means a lot that you guys took me in for Christmas. It’s been a long time since I could celebrate like this.”

“Of course, Chat,” Marinette insisted, resting her head back on his chest and he held her close. “We meant what we said earlier. You’re practically family. You’re one of us, now.”

“That means the world to me.”

The living room clock chimed midnight, breaking the comfortable silence that washed over them.

“Merry Christmas, Chat.”

“Merry Christmas Marinette.”

~~~~~

Come morning, Adrien woke to the smell and sounds of something amazing cooking before peeling his eyes open. It took him a moment to register the blanket fort and Marinette’s sleeping form in his arms before remembering he spent the night with the Dupain-Chengs.

He moved to fix the mask on his face, making sure it was secure as Marinette stirred. “Morning, Princess,” he smiled, watching her eyes open and take in her surroundings.

“Morning, Kitty,” she yawned in reply before settling back on his chest. “Merry Christmas.”

From the kitchen, Tom called out to them upon hearing their tired voices. “Hey, kids, you awake? Breakfast is just about ready.”

Adrien couldn’t help but chuckle as Marinette rolled off him to bury her face in the pillows. He crawled out of the fort and took a seat at the dining table. “Good morning, Tom, Sabine.”

“Good morning, Chat,” Sabine smiled, putting a crêpe down in front of him. “Did you sleep well?”

He grinned at all the food before remembering to answer. “I did. Best night’s sleep I’ve had in a while.”

Tom leaned in close to him and threw him a  _ look _ . “No funny business, right?”

“Papa!” As his face lit up like a Christmas tree, Marinette finally crawled out of the fort equally flustered. “Nothing happened.”

Adrien quickly nodded his confirmation, not trusting himself to speak as Marinette took her seat next to him.

“Tom,” Sabine chastised playfully. “Don’t torture them so early in the morning. At least let them eat first.”

It was hard to eat after that. He finished his plate regardless because a) it’d be rude not to and b) he could never resist Dupain-Cheng cooking. By the time breakfast was over, things were back to normal and Adrien couldn’t be more grateful for it.

While Tom and Sabine did the dishes, Adrien and Marinette cleaned up the blanket fort so they could open gifts. Then the four of them all huddled around the Christmas tree and started handing out gifts.

The Dupain-Chengs were surprised to see gifts addressed from Chat Noir for them.

“Chat, you really didn’t need to-“ Marinette began to protest but he was already shaking his head.

“No, I did. It means a lot that you guys took me in for the holidays and it wouldn’t be right for me to show up empty handed.” Adrien gave them a sincere smile as Tom squeezed his shoulder.

“Thank you, son. You didn’t have to, but we really appreciate it.”

“And… We have something for you too.”

Adrien’s eyes blew wide open as Sabine held out a box for him and motioned for him to open it. “F-For me? Really?”

“Of course. There’s not another Chat Noir here, after all,” Sabine smiled jokingly and Marinette nudged him to go on.

Holding back tears, he gingerly pulled back the wrapping paper to find an apron with the words  _ Purr-ito _ on the front with a cat wrapped in what must’ve been a tortilla.

“You’re starting to get really good in the kitchen,” Tom grinned with pride. “So we figured you’ve earned an apron of your own.”

“Oh… Oh, it’s amazing. I love it,” he grinned, putting the apron on over his onesie to show just how much he loved it. “I’ll wear it even when I’m not cooking. Thank you so much.”

“It’s no problem, Chat,” Sabine smiled.

“Now for my gift.”

Adrien turned to find Marinette with a gift bag waiting for him. He grinned and pulled the tissue paper out. “Crinkly paper? Princess, you really do know me.” He gently scrunched the tissue paper in his hands, grinning at the noise it made as she rolled her eyes.

“Well, I’m glad you like the paper, but there is an actual gift in the bag, you know.”

Peering in, his eyes widened as he pulled out one of those cheesy Christmas sweaters he liked so much, but his father would never let him wear. It was hand knitted with a kitten in a gift box and the words  _ Meow-y Christmas _ on it.

“Oh, Princess, I love it!” Now he was trying really hard not to cry, using the guise of slipping on the sweater over both his onesie and the apron to hide the tears forming on his eyelids.

“Really,” Adrien started, looking at the three of them. “I-I haven’t had a Christmas like this in forever and… And words can’t describe how thankful I am for all of this.”

The moment the Dupain-Chengs wrapped him up in a group hug, happy tears ran down his cheeks but he didn’t find it in him to care. Sure, their gifts would be something he would cherish for years to come, but they gave him so much more than that.

They gave him a family.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays everyone! 
> 
> Come hang out with me on [tumblr!](https://mikachu-chu.tumblr.com/)


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